The Toll Plaza has been a great spot for many of us, and more recently so for many more, in the last year and the season before. It has a lot of things going for it: accessibility, plenty of parking, shallow water, and a large beach with very few hazards aside from the powerlines and the normal east bay rocks on either side of the beach.

A major downside to this spot, especially last year, has been crime as we've seen numerous break-ins and theft. It's ironic that thousands of cars are passing mere yards away, but the lowlife criminals have been regularly coming in, knowing kiters are out on the water, and breaking windows and stealing things.

The common rule would be to go there with only the kite gear you're going to use, your keys, your ID and $20. But that's still no guarantee someone won't break your window to have a look around. In most cases, kiters aren't going there from home where they safely leave belongings.

It's also ironic that there's only one entry and exit to this spot via a long narrow road, making criminal activity a little more risky as well.

Anyone have any ideas on what can be done to combat this problem which is very likely to arise again this season?

Aside from that I was there today and there were a few others as well! We all noticed the need for the 2nd annual clean up (syringes + glass, etc), so I propose the 20th and 21st. I will provide garbage bags for all that wish to participate. Nothing formal just pick up some trash if you see some sort of thing. Bags will be left at the beach. Please pack it out your self, Please. As for the crime we have a description of the culprits from last season and are ever vigilant, Silver nissan 4dr! Even the fishermen have been robbed! And to be clear this happened late evening when no one was around!The suggestions from last year are still relevant: 1:No out of state lic plates (the majority of the victims had these with valuables exposed)2: No obvious valuables left in the whip, dogs in the car when riding, police awareness.3: Report everything ( I have notified CHP,EPD and OPD)4: Keep an eye on your whip'n ur shizzy (every where in the bay, tho right?)On a progressive tip I am suggesting dedicated signage (that I can provide) in series to the affect of : "We are watching you!" at the beach and along the bi road. In series it might read 1: "Caution Slow down, We are watching you!" 2: Thieves and Dopers are not welcome!" 3: "YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"LMK Ur thoughts all about safe and secure access for all!

FYI:The 20th and 21st of this month will also be the KGB Re-Opening Party/Demo weekend! Best, Litewave, beer, BBQ , Usual suspects. etc, yadda, yadda! CYA THR OnASideNote: Ollie how are those Carabeanyah's working for yah?

post signs that say this area is under video surveillance and regularly patrolled by police, and any theft will be prosecuted. whether true or not, could serve as a deterrent.

I haven't been to TP yet, but are there convenient place for cameras to watch the parking? You could put up fake video camera ) or real video cameras $$!!) and crowdsource the funding from the bks community.

Somewhat related: last summer a kiter at Berkeley got his laptop stolen. He put it on the front seat with a towel over it. He was parked at the first spot when entering. The thief must have parked next to him, smashed the passenger window, and left. This was during rush hour too. I suppose the lesson is to keep everything out of sight and have an alarm.

In all the reports of break-ins last year, I don't recall reading any where stuff was taken from the trunk. It always seems to be a wallet, or keys, or laptop, sitting around in the front seat area. So how about, if you must travel with valuables, keeping them in the trunk? Granted it's not that big a deal for a thief to pop the trunk from inside the car, but maybe that's just an extra level of complexity that the quick-strike artists don't want to deal with.

Also, this is just a theory I have, but I keep my extra kite un-bagged in the trunk, and I theorize that this makes it less attractive as bounty due to the fact that if you grab it and run it can unravel very easily and become a hassle to try and scurry away with. A bagged kite is, of course, very easy to snatch and run with.